Yes of course those things happen too, but you would see less of that if they didn't hire and try to retain hundreds of people.
Plus they were working on other games as well and blew their budget because like many game companies they try to do ever…
This is actually something major game companies do on the regular. They hire huge numbers of staff to create their projects. Keep the best ones safe, then they lay off everyone else when the project is done or at a point where sustaining huge number…
It's not out yet but you can look into Chronicles of Elyria. Not exactly an MMO but matches what you are looking for otherwise. At least that is the ideal they are going with at the moment.